Isko Moreno says Sampaloc will be on lockdown, but city officials are still planning it

MANILA, Philippines – The entire Sampaloc district of Manila will be placed under a lockdown, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno confirmed in a message to reporters on Sunday.

However, the Manila Public Information Office (MPIO) said Moreno and other city officials are still planning on how to enforce the lockdown on such a big area. The lockdown will cover several barangays, business areas, and a huge part of the city’s university belt.

Photo from the Manila Public Information Office (MPIO)

“Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno confirms that a lockdown will be implemented in the Sampaloc area but he says authorities are still ‘planning it carefully’,” MPIO said in a tweet.

Moreno also clarified that the date of the lockdown has not been set, contrary to rumors spreading on social media.

“The schedule of the lockdown is yet to be announced, he said,” the MPIO added.

Sampaloc has the highest concentration of possible and confirmed COVID-19 patients in Manila.  Moreno showed during his live address on Sunday that there are now 98 confirmed cases in Sampaloc, with 158 suspected cases.

In total, Manila has 445 confirmed COVID-19 patients. Of which 48  have died while 57 have recovered.  Another 680 are recorded as probable cases.

At present, the Department of Health (DOH) said there 6,259 COVID-19 positive cases in the country. Of this number, 409 have died while at least 572 recovered from the disease.

Worldwide, there are over 2.33 million individuals infected with the coronavirus. Of the figure, 155,689 have died and another 599,692 have recovered from it.

READ: DOH: PH now has over 6,000 people positive for COVID-19 virus

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